Marian Johns' Journal of the Desert
Explorers trip to Peru in 2002
Images by John Page unless otherwise noted
Day 18, September
21, Saturday
Lima to Chavín de Huántar See
Map
Sept. 21, Saturday – It took about ten hours to drive to Chavín de Huántar, our next destination. It is located in the Callejon de Conchucos on the eastern side of the Cordillera Blanca. First, we drove up the coast in fog which keeps the hills somewhat green, and then inland up a dry river valley. Higher and higher we went until once again, we were driving across the altiplano with snow-capped peaks in the distance. Then we turned off to the east, climbed even higher, stopped to take pictures of beautiful Laguna Querococha, and topped out at the 14,500 ft. Cahuish Tunnel.
We drove through the tunnel and down the other side, passing a huge, white statue of Christ.
Surprisingly, there was a considerable amount of traffic on the road. We continued our downward descent, dodging on-coming buses, trucks and vans on a one-lane dirt road barely wide enough for one vehicle, let alone two when they needed to pass.
It was just dark when we finally reached Chavín and made our way to our hotel, the Hostal Turistico Rickay. After unloading, we all walked up the street, past the plaza to a restaurant for dinner. We eat most of our lunches on the road. We use the Mazda’s tailgate because it carries no luggage. I still have a cold, and several other people do too. That should be no surprise, being cooped up with one another all day long. Kathy’s not feeling well and skipped dinner.
